78

Of Traditions: That he received the hierarchical knowledge from tradition. b. You shall not divulge: That is, you will not playfully and irreverently make it manifest to all

the uninitiated, making the divine and mystical things an occasion for laughter. c. But to the holy alone: That one must not reveal the holy things to the profane, nor

cast pearls before swine. d. The most divine mind: It should be noted against the Nestorians, that mind is also said of

God; but of sanctification, that is of purity unto holiness. e. According to power: Of their own intellectual and intelligible essences according to their power;

for Jesus is not according to His own power; for He is of infinite power, since He is also God. f. He enfolds: The interpretation of these things is in the fifth chapter of *On the Divine Names*

. g. Many othernesses: I think many othernesses are said to be (14E_334> the

manifold cares of carnal desires, which the Lord forbids; but a uniform and divine life is to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, which the Lord signified, saying in the prayer, "that they may be one"; and to have the soul so fashioned, he called a sacred state, which is especially fitting for those in holy orders.

And of the knowledge of the visions: That is, the scientific understanding of the words and teachings about God; for the sacred initiations are not up to the mere hearing or utterance of the oracles, but in the following of the thought and the comprehension of what is hymned; for thus also those who are according to God are first consecrated to Him, and then in turn procure the same for others; they are perfected, and again they perfect.

§ 2. It is of angels: That he now also speaks of the nine orders, which he named before in the treatise *On the Divine Hierarchy*.

And all that is now hymned: What is the power of every hierarchy. The hierarch himself: That is, the bishop. And to those subordinate: Concerning advancements. The subordinates to follow: Presbyters. But the one: A comparison of the celestial and the sensible hierarchy. Of sensible symbols: Sensible symbols are the mysteries declared in what follows;

that is, baptism, or illumination; the synaxis, that is the mystery of communion, and the rest.

It is one: God, clearly. Not unitarily: Instead of uniformly and in one and the same manner. (14E_336> And of intelligible things: It should be noted that the treatise which was composed by him concerning

intelligible and sensible things has not been found among us. More discursively: Instead of more broadly. § 3. a. Hierarchy is: Hierarchy is, he says, as our revered

tradition presents, the things universally contemplated or said concerning the proposed, that is, the underlying sacred matters, or indeed also the things done. For by summation he means the comprehension of the whole, just as we also call recapitulation the repetition in brief of what was previously said.

b. Most universal: Universal things are the more comprehensive ones. He says, therefore, that with every order perchance being called a hierarchy, the hierarchy of every hierarchy is the more primary and more general summation; for example, of the hierarchy of presbyters, that is, the order, the bishop is the hierarchy, who is obliged to know, to purify, to illuminate, to perfect; of the hierarchy of deacons the archdeacon is the hierarchy, who is obliged to know the liturgical activities; and so in order for the remaining companies.

78

Παραδόσεων: Ὅτι τήν ἱεραρχικήν ἐπιστήμην ἐκ παραδόσεως παρέλαβεν. β'. Οὐκ ἐξορχήσῃ: Τουτέστιν οὐ παιγνιωδῶς καί ἀνευλαβῶς ποιήσεις πᾶσι

τοῖς ἀνιέροις καταφανῆ, γέλωτος ἀφορμήν ποιούμενος τά θεῖα καί μυστικά. γ'. Ἱεροῖς δέ μόνοις: Ὅτι οὐ δεῖ τά ἅγια τοῖς βεβήλοις ἐκφαίνειν, οὐδέ τούς

μαργαρίτας τοῖςχοίροις ρίπτειν. δ'. Ὁ θεαρχικώτατος νοῦς: Σημειωτέον κατά Νεστοριανῶν, ὅτι νοῦς καί ἐπί

Θεοῦ λέγεται· ἁγιαστείας δέ, ἤτοι καθαρότητος εἰς ἁγιωσύνην. ε'. Κατά δύναμιν: Τῶν νοερῶν αὐτῶν οὐσιῶν καί νοητῶν κατά τήν δύναμιν·

οὐ γάρ κατά τήν ἑαυτοῦ δύναμιν Ἰησοῦς· ἀπειροδύναμος γάρ, ἅτε καί Θεός. ς'. Συμπτύσσει: Ἡ ἑρμηνεία τούτων ἐστίν ἐν τῷ Περί θείων ὀνομάτων

πέμπτῳ κεφαλαίῳ. ζ'. Πολλάς ἑτερότητας: Πολλάς ἑτερότητας οἶμαι λέγεσθαι (14Ε_334> τάς

πολυειδεῖς τῶν σαρκικῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν μερίμνας, ἅς ἀπαγορεύει ὁ Κύριος· ἑνοειδῆ δέ καί θείαν ζωήν τό ζητεῖν ἐν πρώτοις τήν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τήν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ, ὅπερ ὁ Κύριος ἐσήμανεν, εἰπών ἐν τῇ εὐχῇ, «ἵνα ὦσιν ἕν»· τό δέ οὕτω πεποιῶσθαι τήν ψυχήν, ἕξιν ἱεράν ἀπεκάλεσεν, ἥτις καί μάλιστα τοῖς ἱερωμένοις πρεπώδης.

Καί τῆς τῶν θεαμάτων γνώσεως: Τουτέστι τῶν περί Θεοῦ λόγων καί διδαγμάτων τήν ἐπιστημονικήν κατανόησιν· οὐ γάρ ἄχρι ψιλῆς τῆς τῶν λογίων ἀκοῆς ἤ ἐκφωνήσεως τά τῶν ἱερῶν μυήσεων, ἀλλά τῇ παρακολουθήσει τῆς διανοίας καί τῇ συνέσει τῶν ὑμνουμένων· οὕτω γάρ καί οἱ κατά Θεόν πρῶτον ἐφιεροῦνται αὐτῷ, καί εἶθ' οὕτως ἑτέροις τό τοιοῦτον προξενοῦσι· τελειοῦνται, καί πάλιν τελειοῦσιν.

§ 2. Ἀγγέλων ἐστί: Ὅτι τάς ἐννέα τάξεις καί νῦν λέγει, ἅς προωνόμασεν ἐν τῷ Περί τῆς θείας ἱεραρχίας λόγῳ.

Καί πᾶσα ἡ νῦν ὑμνουμένη: Τίς ἡ δύναμις πάσης ἱεραρχίας. Αὐτόν τε τόν ἱεράρχην: Τουτέστι τόν ἐπίσκοπον. Καί τοῖς ὑποβεβηκόσι: Περί προκοπῶν. Ὑποβεβηκότας ἕπεσθαι: Πρεσβυτέρους. Ἀλλ' αἱ μέν: Σύγκρισις τῆς οὐρανίας καί τῆς αἰσθητῆς ἱεραρχίας. Αἰσθητῶν συμβόλων: Αἰσθητά σύμβολά εἰσι τά ἑξῆς δηλούμενα μυστήρια·

τουτέστι τό βάπτισμα, ἤτοι φώτισμα· ἡ σύναξις, ἤγουν τό τῆς κοινωνίας μυστήριον, καί τά λοιπά.

Ἕν μέν ἔστιν: Ὁ Θεός δηλονότι. Οὐχ ἑνιαίως: Ἀντί τοῦ ἑνοειδῶς καί καθ' ἕνα καί τόν αὐτόν τρόπον. (14Ε_336> Νοητῶν τε: Σημειωτέον, ὅτι τό σύνταγμα ὅ αὐτῷ ἐποιήθη περί

νοητῶν καί αἰσθητῶν, παρ' ἡμῖν οὐχ εὕρηται. ∆ιεξοδικώτερον: Ἀντί τοῦ πλατύτερον. § 3. α'. Ἔστι μέν ἱεραρχία: Ἱεραρχία ἐστί, φησί, καθώς ἡ σεπτή ἡμῶν

παράδοσις παρίστησι, τά καθολικῶς θεωρούμενα ἤ λεγόμενα περί τῶν προκειμένων, ἤγουν ὑποκειμένων ἱερῶν πραγμάτων, ἤτοι δέ καί πραττόμενα. Συγκεφαλαίωσιν γάρ τήν τοῦ ὅλου περίληψιν λέγει, ὥσπερ καί ἀνακεφαλαίωσιν λέγομεν τό ἐπαναλαβεῖν ἐν ὀλίγοις τά προλεχθέντα.

β'. Καθολικωτάτη: Καθολικά ἐστι τά περιεκτικώτερα. Φησίν οὖν, ὅτι τυχόν ἁπάσης τάξεως ἱεραρχίας λεγομένης, ἱεραρχία ἐστίν ἁπάσης ἱεραρχίας ἡ ἀρχικωτέρα καί γενικωτέρα συγκεφαλαίωσις· οἷον τῆς πρεσβυτέρων ἱεραρχίας, τουτέστι τάξεως, ἱεραρχία ὁ ἐπίσκοπος, ὀφείλων γινώσκειν, καθαίρειν, φωτίζειν, τελειοῦν· τῆς διακόνων ἱεραρχίας ἱεραρχία ὁ ἀρχιδιάκονος, ὅς ὀφείλει γινώσκειν τάς λειτουργικάς ἐνεργείας· καί οὕτω καθεξῆς τά λοιπά συντάγματα.